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How to Use the Flop.....and be sucessful at it!

• SGTBilko 1,686 Posts

  Sat, Mar 19 2011 8:55 AM

  Flop: One of the least valued shots on here because most do not know how to use this shot. 95% of the time you should never hit the ding line but stop it at the first marker to the left of the ding line. (I use the 95% rule because there are times, depending on the lie that you will want it to land to the right to come back to the hole) Doing this will force the ball to go straight where you aim rather than come off the club head to the right. Great shot 15 to 24 feet from the hole. Great shot if you have a large down hill or up hill lie or where you think the shot does not favor a chip or pitch shot. Average roll 3-4, will stop dead with callaway s ball. As with any shot make sure you decide where you want the ball to land because of the roll out. Ball landing/placement is just as critical as controlling where the flop will land to maximize a short putt to the hole.

• WiredBullets 103 Posts

  Sat, Mar 19 2011 9:04 AM

  Or you can just aim your shot 2 yards to the left of where you want it to land and ding the shot. This would help those who are used to trying to ding their shots and are good at the timing rather than trying to miss the ding and hit the first marker.

• SGTBilko 1,686 Posts

  Sat, Mar 19 2011 9:10 AM

  WiredBullets:

  Or you can just aim your shot 2 yards to the left of where you want it to land and ding the shot. This would help those who are used to trying to ding their shots and are good at the timing rather than trying to miss the ding and hit the first marker.

  Not really, I have found that doing that is less accurate and harder to control where the ball will land. You will find that once you move up through the tiers that this will be far more accurate than guess-ta-mating where it will land.

• SgtDoodles 3,112 Posts

  Sat, Mar 19 2011 11:40 AM

  SGTBilko:

  WiredBullets:

  Or you can just aim your shot 2 yards to the left of where you want it to land and ding the shot. This would help those who are used to trying to ding their shots and are good at the timing rather than trying to miss the ding and hit the first marker.

  Not really, I have found that doing that is less accurate and harder to control where the ball will land. You will find that once you move up through the tiers that this will be far more accurate than guess-ta-mating where it will land.

  But what about playing the flop out of rough? Then you have to aim 2 yards left.

• SGTBilko 1,686 Posts

  Sat, Mar 19 2011 11:42 AM

  nope, not if you use the left marker line

• AHudd 104 Posts

  Sat, Mar 19 2011 12:14 PM

  Main thing you have to be careful of if you use that method is missing ding can/does reduce distance of shot. Being a short shot im sure its not much...i use the ding method myself but if you're switching over to that style i'd check if ya need to add a to your usual distance.  

• SweetiePie 4,925 Posts

  Sat, Mar 19 2011 12:59 PM

  It all depends upon where you are playing, the distance, the lie, the green speed, the break, etc. To rely only on the flop is stupid except for the inexperienced player. The wonders of an extremely supurb short game requires the mastery of the punch, pitch, chip & flop and knowing when, where and which to choose.

• 0TarHeel0 43 Posts

  Sat, Mar 19 2011 1:17 PM

  I know I haven't played nearly as many rounds as some players on here, but there is only one instance where I've found the flop useful and superior to other shots. That's the 10th on St Andrews, when you hit short right in front of the green on the front pin location. All the other situations that I've ran into before, the Full shot is far superior. Just two months ago, I was sub 45% scrambling and sand save. Now both are in the low 60% range. All because I only use full shots all around the green. Sometimes when I'm close I will use chip, but only when I'm trying to hole it out.

• SGTBilko 1,686 Posts

  Sat, Mar 19 2011 1:40 PM

  Sweetie pie is right if you only rely on the flop, the intent on writing this was because most people avoid the flop because of the problem I pointed out.

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Sat, Mar 19 2011 6:37 PM

  That's crazy. Legend speed greens with chips and pitches is what the nightmare is unless you're going up hill. I discovered the miss to the first line almost 2 years ago and have been using it for that long. It's been posted many times.  The Satin 64w flops 15 from the fwy, 11 from 30-40 and 9 from 40-50 all with full bs. 

  What good is a wedge if you don't master all of the shots with it? FWIW, the Satin 77 and 90 also flop nicely. All it takes is a bit of practice but they're very consistent.